I am writing this after the second dress rehearsal of Madama Butterfly. It was the fourth complete run-through of the piece we have done in four days. Tomorrow will be a free day and then we will have the opening on Saturday to arrive at a total of five Butterflies in six days.

In order to understand this high density of activity you have to know that we have planned a total of 15 performances with two different casts. We are proud that in each cast two out of three principal roles are sung by graduates of our Ensemble Studio, David Pomeroy as Pinkerton, Yannick-Muriel Noah as Cio-Cio San, James Westman and Brett Polegato as Sharpless. And there are many more Ensemble Studio members and graduates singing supporting roles.

Both casts need to be properly and equally prepared and rehearsed, of course. After tonight's rehearsal everybody should be ready.

Earlier today we had our monthly Board meeting. Not that I've ever had a bad one since I've started at the COC, but today was an especially good one. We are privileged to have a group of extremely committed Board members with a great enthusiasm for the art form of opera in general and our company in particular. Their guidance and expertise has helped us navigate the company through all recession difficulties and together we have developed some exciting initiatives to ensure the COC's bright future. How good to have your Board on board.

Just before this evening's dress rehearsal we started the season of our extremely popular Free Concert Series at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. The members of our Ensemble Studio sang in front of a packed and enthusiastic auditorium. As we prepare to open our mainstage season it is great to have this wonderful series back as well. From now on there will be two or three concerts every week, most of them at noon. Watch out for our program and make sure that you come early enough to get in!